My mother forced me into a blind date with a Navy Commander, insisting I should be grateful a "decorated officer" even looked my way. But the second we sat down, his arrogance came out. He grabbed my arm and smirked, "You'll follow my rules, sweetheart." I didn't argue. I just reached into my bag and set my Admiral's medal on the table with a sharp clink. "Actually, Commander... you're way out of line." The blood instantly drained from his face.

Adrian stepped into the room, a triumphant, sadistic grin spreading across his face.

"Drop your weapons," he ordered.

Jax and Miller slowly lowered their guns to the floor, heavily outnumbered and completely outgunned.

"I must admit, Serena, I am impressed you made it this far," Adrian mocked, kicking my pistol away.

He walked over to the safe, placing his thumb on the scanner.

The heavy steel door clicked open, revealing stacks of cash and a single black hard drive.

"You wanted the ledger?" he asked, holding the drive up like a trophy.

"This drive holds the launch protocols for our advanced missile systems."

"My buyers are paying fifty million dollars for it, and we are meeting their submarine in international waters tonight."

He turned to his guards, gesturing toward us dismissively.

"Take them to the flight deck and throw them overboard."

"Make sure they sink."

As the guards stepped forward to grab us, I noticed a glowing red communications panel on the wall behind Adrian's desk.

It was the ship's emergency broadcast system, tied directly to the Pentagon's listening posts.

I stumbled backward on purpose, pretending to trip over a chair leg.

I crashed into the desk, my hands frantically searching the wall behind my back.

My fingers found the broadcast switch and flipped it up to the open military frequency.

"You are committing treason, Adrian," I yelled loudly, ensuring the microphone picked up every word.

"Selling launch codes to a foreign submarine is an act of war!"

Adrian laughed, completely unaware that the entire naval command was now listening.

"I am the commander of this vessel, Serena, I am the law out here!" he boasted loudly.

A sharp, piercing beep suddenly echoed from the communications panel, signaling an active open transmission.

Adrian froze, his eyes darting to the glowing red light behind me.

“Which daughter is yours?” should have been a harmless question

The first wineglass shattered at 8:07 p.m

The moment the mafia boss’s wife called me “an illiterate servant,”

His face contorted into pure, violent fury as he realized I had just broadcast his full confession.

He raised his pistol and pointed it directly at the center of my forehead.

Chapter 9 - The Captain's Court